Thursday, March 13, 2014

2013 The Atom “We Can Be Heroes: Modesty” silhouette by Steve Garcia

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I quite like the idea behind these inspirational silhouettes, but can often nitpick elements of execution. For instance, how do you not assign Namor the Sub-Mariner the defining adjective of "Imperious?" In the case of Ray Palmer, Garcia has the weight of canon on his side in calling Ray Palmer "Modest," based on his depiction of insecurity during his stay with the Satellite Era Justice League. During Blackest Night, Ray was inducted into The Indigo Tribe, which is defined by Compassion, as referenced by two of Garcia's variant interpretations of the Tiny Titan. The thing is though, the Atom was one of the first Leaguers to kill and kill often (see Sword of the Atom and Power of the Atom,) not to mention torturing suspects for information (Cry for Justice.) If you look at the original Ray Palmer Atom stories, the Mighty Mite was not motivated to action by altruism, but by Palmer's desire to prove himself and win an accomplished, fashionable, attractive trophy wife in Jean Loring (only to neglect her once she was "his.") I like Ray Palmer because he's the exact opposite of his Marvel counterpart, Hank Pym. Ray's an indifferent egotist driven by personal satisfaction who has rejected pleas for memberships to Justice Leagues he saw as beneath him and could happily dismiss the civilized world in favor of indulging fantasy camps. He's a little jerk, but very capable and compelling. Not unlike Namor, come to think of it.

“We Can Be Heroes”